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The Pittsburgh Penguins, a franchise built to win now, gifted with two of the finest talents of a generation, are facing the grim possibility of going down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference final.

It’s not just that the Pens lost the first two games to the Boston Bruins, but how it happened.

It hasn’t been pretty and that is why Game 3 Wednesday night has the potential to be a watershed for a few of the key personalities in the Pittsburgh machine.

Coach Dan Bylsma has seen his team, led by captain Sidney Crosby and 1A centre Evgeni Malkin, become slightly unglued in Game 1 and then just capitulate in Game 2, surrendering a total of nine goals in the first 120 minutes of this series while scoring just one.

Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, the Penguins have won three playoff series, two over the Ottawa Senators and one against the New York Islanders. They’ve lost to the Montreal Canadiens, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers.

Bylsma’s Penguins have more often than not caused all sorts of self-inflicted calamities, a post-season trend gathering steam after last year’s opening-round loss to the Flyers in a run-and-gun series in which the Penguins scored lots, but allowed more.

The Penguins have trouble moving the puck around their own zone and seem to be particularly vulnerable to anything approaching a decent forecheck, as the eighth-seeded Islanders proved in the opening round this spring.

Then again, if you believe Penguins defenceman Kris Letang, who has been dreadful so far, the Bruins don’t even need to forecheck.

“They don’t really forecheck us. They just wait for us to make mistakes, and we actually gave them what they got,” he said in a fair assessment.

As much as they have talked about putting defence first, the Penguins are like a golfer whose worst swing faults emerge when the pressure is highest. They continue to be betrayed by their DNA as an offensive team, a team that plays with its weight on its collective front legs and not the back.

So, there’s plenty of heat to go around heading into Game 3.

If the Penguins capitulate like they did in Game 2 – given their underachieving ways in the post season, it’s possible – certainly Bylsma’s work behind the bench deserves to be questioned. His stars have been far from his best players, and they and Bylsma must share responsibility.

He promised both changes in the composition of his lineup for Game 3 and the remodeling of his forward line combinations – something he has often been hesitant to do.

After pulling goaltender Tomas Vokoun when it got to be 3-0 late in the first period Monday and putting, Bylsma confirmed Tuesday he’s made his choice for Game 3, but wasn’t saying who it would be in keeping with his policy of not discussing lineups or injuries (which continues to make his decision to announce the change to Vokoun for Game 5 of the Islanders series all the more odd).

Fleury, admittedly in a tough spot, gave up a back-breaking goal 25 seconds after the Penguins had scored to make it 3-1 with nine seconds left in the first period. Yes, it was a good shot by Boston’s Brad Marchand, but the Penguins needed a save there.

“We look at his entire body of work, not one instance or one shot last night that would sway what goes into how he performed or how he’s going to perform in his next game,” said Bylsma of his decision-making process. “He’s certainly won a lot of hockey games, had a lot of success in that net for us and he didn’t have that last night, but that’s not going to play into the decision.”

Bylsma should play Fleury.

He's won a Cup, but there's a question now, after the last two springs, if he can be a franchise goaltender.

Penguins facing now-or-never Game 3 in Beantown

Pittsburgh facing near must-win down 2-0 in series

The Pittsburgh Penguins, a franchise built to win now, gifted with two of the finest talents of a generation, are facing the grim possibility of going down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference final.

It’s not just that the Pens lost the first two games to the Boston Bruins, but how it happened.

It hasn’t been pretty and that is why Game 3 Wednesday night has the potential to be a watershed for a few of the key personalities in the Pittsburgh machine.

Coach Dan Bylsma has seen his team, led by captain Sidney Crosby and 1A centre Evgeni Malkin, become slightly unglued in Game 1 and then just capitulate in Game 2, surrendering a total of nine goals in the first 120 minutes of this series while scoring just one.

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There wasn't much left of Daniel Briere's voice. The veteran Montreal Canadiens forward had been turned into a cheerleader, sitting on the Canadiens bench for most of the third period of their Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins, cooling his heels despite having set up the crucial first goal two minutes into the game.